1. Topic-
Berlin Wall
 
2. Content-

Students will examine the reasons for the building of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War.

Concepts: World War II, Germany, communist, Soviet, democracy, United States, Berlin, the Berlin Wall, the Cold War, Robert Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Mikhail Gorbachev

 
3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
1. Students will examine perspectives of East Berlin and West Berlin
2. Students will examine the perspectives of communism and democracy
3.Students will learn to compare and contrast opposing views of East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War
4. Students will understand the euphoria when the wall came down.
 
4. Objectives-
1.Students will read text book for summary about the Berlin Wall
2. Students will see video clips of the Berlin Wall Creation
3.Students will be able to discuss the pros/cons to building the Berlin Wall
4. Students will view a small segment of a picture of people coming over the Wall, but it will not display the full picture and generate a hypothesis of what is going on in the picture.
5. Piece by piece the picture will be more revealed, and students will revise their hypothesis.
6. Finally the whole picture will be revealed and students will generate their final hypothesis.
 
5. Materials and Aids-

website: www.nneseum.org/berlinwall/
united streaming: Overcoming the Berlin Wall

SMART board, SMART Notebook software, Internet connection, personal computer, Berlin Wall photograph, "I See" "I think" papers for students. Ronald Reagan's Brandenburg Gate speech

 
6. Procedures/Methods-

A. Introduction-

1. Ticket in the Door: What do you know about the Berlin Wall.
2. Students will examine pictures of the building of the Berlin Wall and the taking down of the Berlin Wall They will talk about what they see, they will talk about what they know, and they will discuss what questions they have.
3.Students will receive I See, I Think papers
4.Attention will be focused on Smart Board
5. Small portion of picture will be revealed
 

B. Development-

1. Students will view videos and take notes
2. Students will take notes on pages from our text book
3. We will discuss questions and discuss what we see from the video and book materials.
 

C. Practice-

1. Students will turn in bell work / see-think-wonder
2. Students will turn in any notes from our lecture on video and book materials
3. Why are people coming over Wall discussion
4. Compare map of Germany pre-WWII & post WWII
5. Discuss division of Germany & discuss key terms/vocabulary
 

D. Independent Practice-

1. Students will create a writing assignment. They will write a 1st hand account from the perspective of being in East Berlin or West Berlin. The letter will be written to a family member.
2.How would you compare / contract the opposite view point.
3. How does this relate to them today.
4. Student will break into groups to discuss why the think various countries divided Germany.
5. They will then read a designated section in textbook about the post-war Germany
6. They will then generate an explanation, in their own words, about the division of Germany, with illustrations.
 

E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-

1. Individual copies of book pages, video clips on my weebly teacher page.
2. students can instead of creating a letter can create a video or a rap of their understanding of the Berlin Wall of both East and West sides
3. I am always available before and after school for individual needs.
4 1. Students will work in mixed ability groups.
5. Reading will be choral.
6. I will circulate to check for understanding
 

F. Checking for understanding-

1.Students will present their letters
2. Students can provide feedback to what they hear and help students clarify their writing.
3. Final projects will be submitted.
 

G. Closure-

1. Students will create an I can statement about what they learned about the Berlin Wall.
2. Students can compare 2 view points on the Berlin Wall.
 
7. Evaluation-
1. This will be a reflection writing piece. Students will use their creativity and also use key terms to check for understanding on the Berlin Wall.
2. Students will receive full credit if they have a letter and offer an understanding of one perspective and can contrast the opposite perspective.
 
8. Teacher Reflection-
This lesson will be a great activity to introduce the issues during the Cold War. Students will gain an understanding of the differences between communism and democracy. Students will see perspectives from the people who had to experience this event.
 

This Lesson Plan is available at (www.teacherjet.com)